


Chase Me

by yuletide_archivist



Category: National Treasure Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-12-21
Updated: 2007-12-21
Packaged: 2018-01-25 05:19:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1633610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yuletide_archivist/pseuds/yuletide_archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post-Movie. Riley does some reevaluation of his own life. Meanwhile, Ben reconsiders his choice of Abigail given certain unforeseen outcomes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chase Me

**Author's Note:**

> Written for CSI_Sanders1129

 

 

It's when Riley notices the clock reading 4:39 AM that he winces, shutting down the program he's been working on for most of the week and pushing away from his desk. Riley likes working whatever jobs he wants but as he stretches and stands, gritting his teeth as blood floods his legs and sends a painful tingling sensation throughout his body, he starts to wonder if he shouldn't have chosen such a sedentary career.

He sheds his shirt and jeans and climbs into bed, wishing not for the first time that he-they, had never found that blasted treasure.

Having money was cool. It meant more than that Riley didn't have to work another day in his life, it meant he no longer had to dodge calls from credit card companies or bill collectors. Eating out didn't mean dining and ditching. The latest technologies were at the tips of his fingers now. Riley could go anywhere and do anything at anytime.

It also meant he was alone, because the money had come with certain stipulations, mainly, a blonde foreign historian.

He wants to be able to say that he knew that Abigail Chase was trouble the moment he laid his eyes on her, but Riley is honest enough with himself to admit that beyond the 'eye candy factor' he hadn't given her much thought past their first meeting. He hadn't thought much more about her after Ben mentioned talking to her during the party, it wasn't until she refused to get out of the van-and Ben didn't make her that his brain sat up and took notice. And by then it was too late, because things pretty much went downhill from there on out. And it hurt. His best friend and man crush for the past two years just dropped him for some random blonde. He'd half expected Ben to do that with Ian maybe-if Ian hadn't already been so smitten with Shay when they'd worked together. But to have some foreign chick ousts him from his position in Ben's life hurt.

And sure he wasn't what was worse, how seamlessly Abigail had taken over or how little a fight Ben put up to stop her.

So he'd driven off in his ridiculously expensive car and kept going.

He didn't stop until three states later. The entire drive he'd gone over his pithy parting comment, at first pleased with getting the last word in and later scolding himself for the childish prod that would be the last words he'd say to his best friend.

0-0-0-0-0  
Six Months Earlier  
0-0-0-0-0

Or would have been the last words he'd have spoken to Ben if he hadn't stopped sulking.

His life turns around because he gets beyond drunk one night. He wakes up in a motel room that smells of cigarettes and is decorated in early 70's décor. If his hangover weren't so heinous, Riley would be snarking about the lack of taste putting him off the color orange forever, as it is he's just cursing the bright shag carpeting.

"Uuuh, I hate oraaaange." Riley makes it to the bathroom in time but not the toilet. He loses whatever contents were in his stomach from last night's dinner before he'd gone on his raging drunken binge.

After his stomach had returned to it's natural location and is no longer lodged and trying to escape his throat, Riley gargles mouthwash and water. Popping a few aspirin, he collapses on the starched bed, willing his headache away.

Instead of working, he's assaulted with images from the night before that make him wince; it's not the first time that Riley's not been able to remember what he'd gotten up to, but it's the first time he's started to worry about it.

It's happening more and frequently, more than he cares to admit, because then he'd have to admit why he was doing it, and he's really not ready to admit that as much as he was six months ago.

With a cultivated air of 'fuck off' Riley drags his sorry ass to the town's local diner. He shambles into a booth and signals the waitress. She looks him over before coming to the table with a steaming mug of coffee, black. He moans something resembling 'thanks' and she shuffles to the other patrons.

As he slowly drains his coffee and is more able to face the day, Riley slumps against the sticky table.

The waitress reappears, refilling his mug. "She certainly must be something." She intones; staring at Riley slumped over the table.

Riley glares, right now he doesn't even want to think about Ben or Abigail, let alone discuss it with some random waitress. She's either oblivious or too nosy to care about his rude lack of manners. With a sigh Riley gives in, it's not like she's going to tell anyone. "He certainly seemed to think so."

She snaps her gum and makes an 'aaah' sound. "So that's why you're so long in the face, your man's run off with some hussy?" She laughs at Riley's reaction. "Honey, I've been around along time and that ain't even close to the wildest I've ever heard it."

He shakes his head and closes his eyes; he just wants it all to stop, he doesn't want to think about what crazy stories this waitress has been spun or how he measures up on her 'fucked up meter', he's just tired--has been for the past six months.

"Close enough." He answers gruffly, hoping to dissuade her from further conversation.

"Well if he can't see what a treasure he had before him then he ain't worth your heartache, sweetie."

At his lack of reply the waitress finally seems to get that the last thing he wants is have a heart-to-heart, and she wanders off.

A while later a plate clunks down on his table, startled Riley looked up to see the cause of the commotion. The waitress-Lucy as her nametag so proudly proclaims, is back and with toast. A glass of water is set next to his mug of coffee. She slumps into the booth opposite him, resting her coffee pot on the table.

Lucy looks him square in the face, assessing him, like she could see into his mind. See what he'd gone through and why he was sitting in her diner. When it was starting to get (more) uncomfortable she imparts these words before leaving.

"If he won't fight for you and you won't fight for him, then all you can do is move on, hon. Ain't nothing sadder than a boy like you moping over heartache." She gives him a pat on the cheek that's closer to a slap and gets up, bussing from table to table with coffee refills.

Riley snorts, pays the bill and leaves a big tip.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Lucy was right, Riley could only dwell on Ben for so long before it got sad, and that point was five months ago.

So he moves back.

It takes about two weeks before everything is set up, and afterwards Riley couldn't be more bored out of his mind if he tried. There's not much for him to do during the day and even less at night, so despite not needing the money he starts looking for a job. Being self-sufficient means that he can pick and choose, as he liked, a novelty that has yet to wear off.

His latest project, the one that had kept him up all week, is a math based security program for a budding company. Nowhere near as exciting as stealing the Declaration of Independence, but it's also a lot less endangering of his life as well.

He more than gets used to it, Riley begins to like how if life is now. Which six months ago he wouldn't have thought possible, not without Ben.

0-0-0-0-0-0

There's a knock on his door, Riley answers it without a thought to who it could be at this time in the morning. The program isn't due for two more days, and even then he typically sends them out via email.

The door slides back to reveal Ben, looking frazzled and slugging back coffee. Riley knows he should have expected Ben, if only because he was the last person Riley had expected.

"Riley." Ben remains standing there in the doorway, mainly because Riley's too shocked to move out of the way, but he's standing there and he's still so Ben that Riley almost feels like the few months haven't happened at all. He's just appeared, and Riley's entire world that he's built up for himself is just thrown.

"Ben." His voice sounds calm, like he's sure of himself.

Riley feels a certain pride in that but he doesn't know how he got his voice to do that and he's sure if he tried to say anything else he'd be incomprehensible, because inside he feels like he's falling apart.

He's struck with the sudden urge to hug Ben, to hold him close and never let him go; to tell him all about his own little adventure after striking it rich. Only he can't. He's speechless, and this isn't something that Riley's ever had happen to him, even during the treasure fiasco his tongue had been razor-sharp with witty comebacks. Even when it would have been smarter for him to remain silent, and now, now when he needs his shield of sarcasm more than ever it's failed him. Words are flying by in his mind but when he goes to grab them they slip through his fingers. Mentally he's flailing and running about like a chicken without its head.

"I've missed you."

The sincerity that Ben says those three simple words with jar Riley out of his funk, his body is moving before he realizes it and he backs away from the door, waving Ben in. The taller man jolts inside, like he thinks that Riley will change his mind and kick him out.

Riley backs up, putting space between them, before he does something foolish. Like kiss Ben silly. He's moved on from the hurt feelings, well mostly, but he still doesn't feel comfortable being around the other man.

"How's Abigail?" He doesn't mean to sound bitter, but there are some things Riley just can't control.

Ben looks pained and uncomfortable. "She...we didn't work out."

Riley's breath gets caught in his throat, which suddenly feels too tight for him to breathe.

"I made a mistake." Ben shuffles in place when Riley doesn't reply, running a hand over his head and taking a deep breath to settle his state of mind. "A big one."

Riley frowns before asking. "Why are you telling me this, Ben?" His voice is plaintive and weary; any explanation from Ben is several months overdue.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Ben is telling Riley this for a very simple reason: he needs Riley.

More than anything.

For the past four years he'd taken for granted that the other man would be by his side, no matter what time of day or night. Ever since they'd met Riley had been there with him, searching for clues about the whereabouts of Charlotte. He'd kept Ben going, rallying his spirits when even his own father wouldn't support the quest.

But Ben hadn't been mendacious when he'd told Abigail that his father considered him too loose with his heart. Ben so easily fell in and out of love, that the word itself had begun to lose it's meaning. He'd thought he'd finally found it in Abigail Chase, without realizing that he'd had it in Riley Poole.  
The first few months with her had been great. With the money from the treasure they'd moved into their historical house and boffed like bunnies. Only when they surfaced for air, and actually started dating the realized that beyond an obsessive passion for history they didn't have much else in common.

That combined with discovering that without bad guys after them, their personalities were very contradictory and without Riley there to keep Ben focused the two were too controversial to peacefully reside under one roof. They split, Abby keeping the house and Ben moving out.

Which only marginally improved Ben's mood, he still felt off kilter, in a way he hadn't felt like in years, before he'd met Riley Poole. As soon as he'd realized where he'd gone wrong he'd set about finding his missing best friend and setting things right.

In theory it was an easy solution, until he'd actually begun to search for Riley. He'd moved out of his old apartment for a couple months according to the other man's old landlord, and he hadn't been heard from since. The private investigator he'd hired hadn't been able to come up with much, until a few weeks ago.

Riley had moved back and suddenly Ben had his second chance.

0-0-0-0-0

"Riley, I...I'm sorry about everything. I know that it's not enough, but I am sorry and I'm not letting you go. Not again. Not ever again."

Ben reaches out for the other man, resting his palm on the smaller man's shoulder and squeezing tightly.

"I don't love you." He says it, voice as even and without doubt.

If Riley thought his world was beyond salvage all those months ago, he'd obviously hadn't been aware of just how much power Ben Gates still had over him. Stricken, his heart twisted sharply in his chest, he hadn't expected that low of a blow.

Ben tightened his hold when he felt Riley try to lurch out of his grip. He grabbed his chin, tilting it so that the other man was looking him straight in the eyes. There was already so much miscommunication between them; he didn't want Riley to misunderstand him, not now.

"I need you, Riley Poole. More than some treasure or anything else, anyone else. I. Need. You."

Riley felt tears film across his eyes, "About time you realized it."

Ben chuckled breath ghosting Riley's cheek; it felt like things were finally back to how they should be, like he'd been stumbling through life without Riley by his side and now he could finally regain his balance.

Rile smiled in return, laughing but unable to stop a few tears from streaming down his cheek. Ben's thumb slipped from his chin to his cheek to stroke them away, leaning in to place a chaste kiss across Riley's lips.

"I won't forget it again, I promise." He leaned back, angling for another kiss.

Riley felt his chest loosen, a weight suddenly being lifted from his shoulders. Some of his humor returning, he leans back from the kiss, smirking at the taller man.

"Yeah, but maybe we should make sure that you can't."

Ben quirked an eyebrow, humoring him, "And how do you suppose we do that?"

"I know a tattoo artist who owes me a favor or two..."

0-0-0-0-0  
The End.  
0-0-0-0-0

 


End file.
